The significance of knowledge managers in charting the course in today’s information era.
Today’s organizations are constantly faced with an influx of knowledge, information, and data. According to Statista, online users created 97 zettabytes of data in 2022 alone. That number is expected to grow to 181 zettabytes by 2025. Managing this wealth of information can be incredibly difficult for organizations to manage and share properly, which ends up stunting growth.
This is where knowledge managers come into play. Knowledge managers play a critical role in a company’s data accessibility, storage, and distribution and are ultimately responsible for ensuring information is shared seamlessly throughout the organization.
Below, we’ll explore what a knowledge manager is as well as their responsibilities. We’ll also review why these individuals are critical to an organization’s success and how individuals can be certified in the role.
What is a Knowledge Manager?
Before we delve into what a knowledge manager is, a quick refresher on what knowledge management is.
Knowledge management is the practice of documenting, organizing, and storing all company information. Typically, a knowledge management system (KMS) is used by organizations to maintain and communicate this knowledge.
A knowledge manager, on the other hand, is someone responsible for managing an organization’s knowledge resources and KMS platform. Additionally, they facilitate the creation, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of knowledge to ensure it is readily available to those who need it.
Responsibilities of a Knowledge Manager
While the responsibilities of a knowledge manager will vary between organizations, they typically oversee the following:
Knowledge capture and creation: Knowledge managers are tasked with identifying, capturing, and documenting valuable information within an organization. This may include documented data, reports, expertise, experience, and more. Additionally, the work to transform tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge through interviews, surveys, and collaborative tools.
Knowledge storage and organization: To ensure the entire organization has access to critical information, knowledge managers develop and maintain knowledge repositories, databases, and systems. This may include a KMS, learning management system, CRM system, or other platforms. These individuals also create taxonomies and metadata structures to categorize and organize information for easy retrieval.
Knowledge sharing and dissemination: Using the systems mentioned above, knowledge managers ensure knowledge is shared among employees, teams, and departments.
Knowledge maintenance and quality assurance: Knowledge managers continuously develop strategies for managing knowledge effectively. This may include establishing policies, guidelines, and best practices for knowledge management within the organization. This ensures that data and information are as up-to-date and accurate as possible.
The Importance of Knowledge Managers
All organizations, regardless of their industry, can benefit from individuals sharing, collaborating, and innovating company information. Knowledge managers increase these practices, ensuring businesses are taking full advantage of effective knowledge sharing.
In addition to encouraging individuals to utilize and collaborate on business data, knowledge managers bring the following benefits to organizations:
Improved decision-making: According to a report by McKinsey, a well-maintained knowledge management system can reduce the time to find information and make decisions by up to 35%. By democratizing data and knowledge across the organization, individuals increase the quality and speed of decisions which furthers business growth and overall performance.
Increased productivity: Companies that have implemented knowledge management best practices have seen a productivity increase of at least 20%. This is primarily due to ensuring everyone has the information needed to optimally perform their job.
Competitive advantage: A survey by Deloitte found that 87% of organizations believe that effective knowledge management gives them a competitive advantage. By creating and sharing new knowledge across the enterprise, organizations can innovate more quickly, enabling them to stand out from competitors.
Employee satisfaction: Knowledge management can lead to a 20% increase in employee satisfaction according to a report by APQC. This is primarily because knowledge managers take away the time, stress, and frustration of looking for data and information, enabling employees to do their jobs more effectively.
Risk mitigation and compliance: Knowledge managers ensure organizations are complying with industry regulations, legal requirements, and quality standards. By maintaining accurate and up-to-date knowledge repositories, they help reduce the risk of non-compliance, which can lead to legal issues, fines, and damage to the organization’s reputation.
How to Become a Certified Knowledge Manager
The steps to becoming a certified knowledge manager will vary depending upon the individual’s location; however, most individuals can complete a certification in knowledge management via an online course. For example, the Certified Knowledge Manager (CKM) from the Knowledge Management Institute or the Certified Information Professional (CIP) from AIIM offer certifications in knowledge management.
Additionally, individuals can speak to their employer or others within the knowledge management field to determine how to earn their certification in their respective locations.
Take Full Advantage of Knowledge Management with JourneyTEAM
In a world where information is abundant and constantly evolving, the roles of knowledge managers and KMS platforms are indispensable. Organizations that employ knowledge managers can take full advantage of the skills, success, and sustainability these individuals will bring to their teams.
Interested in getting started with knowledge managers or knowledge management systems? Contact JourneyTEAM. We’ll show you how to get started.